Being More Naturally Conscious When Dirt Poor
So, we're poor. Like foodstamps and welfare poor. No joke. But the problem with being on emergency assistance (it really was an emergency, more on that at another time) is that it leaves little wiggle room for buying organic and "all natural". We can't go and spend five hundred dollars on a complete set of Young Living or doTERRA essential oils. Most organic foods are out of the question unless it's in season fruit or veg that is on sale. Hell, we used to buy the olives from the olive bar at Whole Foods along with sliced chorizo that cost 19.99 a pound (it's is GODLY by the way and I highly recommend it). But we can't do that anymore.
So what can we do? Well, we have always cooked our food from scratch, it saves mad money and sometimes allows us to purchase the better quality ingredients. We use vinegar to clean everything so we don't have to buy cleaning supplies, not even bleach, cause bleach stinks. I am able to mix it in a spray bottle with water and a few drops of tea tree oil which I had before we hit rock bottom. We learned to use coconut oil for everything. Your arm hurts? Coconut oil on that shit. The baby needs to have her temp taken? Put coconut oil on that thermometer. No more K and Y Jelly? Coconut oil on that dick. It replaces so many things.
Throughout the years however, I've always spent a great deal of money on bath and body products. I have psoriasis, I deserve that organic face wash from Africa that helps women run their own business. I don't worry about wrinkles or firming, or crap like that. I desire moistness. I just want to not be dry and horrendously itchy. Coconut oil can be awesome, but mix it with cocoa butter, shea butter and beeswax, and bam, lotion bars that are amazing. Individually those ingredients cost money. Beeswax is the most expensive, however a little goes a long way. These I can make easily, but soap and shampoo, not so much. I mean I could, but I'm lazy and afraid of the lye involved.
Today, I went to Lush for the first time. I had honestly never paid attention to them before because I thought all they made were bath bombs. I didn't know they had shampoo bars and bar soap and awesomely expensive lotion that I can't afford right now. So, I'm trying two of their products. Or rather, my son is trying a bath bomb and I am trying a shampoo bar that promises to soothe my dry itchy scalp. I also got a sample of their Charity Pot lotion, I put it on my hands at the store and they seem to still be not dry now. Lotion is one of those things that will always need reapplying through out the day, but if I get a concoction that only needs to be done in the morning and at night, then it is a keeper. We'll see how these products go. I can spend ten or more bucks on a bar of organic triple milled soap, and I've wasted a good amount of money on stuff that doesn't work.
Another thing I've actually struggled with is the yarn I purchase. When available, I make an effort to buy organic cotton, but cotton is notoriously difficult to work with. Organic wool is way too expensive, even when we had our cushy two incomes. The problem is I enjoy knitting, but I run out of yarn and instead of ordering a natural product or now, not having enough money, I purchase the cheap acrylic. Yes it's washable, but it's plastic, and I dress my baby in it, and I feel bad, because she's wearing a plastic sweater. This is another area where I need to put my foot down and say, no to synthetics. I have found that an easier and cheaper way to do this is not buy for the sake of the stash. Focus on exactly what project you'd like to make, choose your pattern, calculate your yarn cost, shop around for the best price for the wool, or for you god awful vegan folk, cotton or linen or such, and purchase exactly what you need. I like to think about it this way, I'm putting so much time and effort into hand knitting, so I might as well purchase a quality yarn and hand wash it gently with a good wool wash.
Right now, I wish we could do more. But the little things add up and make a difference in our lives. Hopefully things get better for us, so we can live like we really want to and do things even better for ourselves and the environment.
So what can we do? Well, we have always cooked our food from scratch, it saves mad money and sometimes allows us to purchase the better quality ingredients. We use vinegar to clean everything so we don't have to buy cleaning supplies, not even bleach, cause bleach stinks. I am able to mix it in a spray bottle with water and a few drops of tea tree oil which I had before we hit rock bottom. We learned to use coconut oil for everything. Your arm hurts? Coconut oil on that shit. The baby needs to have her temp taken? Put coconut oil on that thermometer. No more K and Y Jelly? Coconut oil on that dick. It replaces so many things.
Throughout the years however, I've always spent a great deal of money on bath and body products. I have psoriasis, I deserve that organic face wash from Africa that helps women run their own business. I don't worry about wrinkles or firming, or crap like that. I desire moistness. I just want to not be dry and horrendously itchy. Coconut oil can be awesome, but mix it with cocoa butter, shea butter and beeswax, and bam, lotion bars that are amazing. Individually those ingredients cost money. Beeswax is the most expensive, however a little goes a long way. These I can make easily, but soap and shampoo, not so much. I mean I could, but I'm lazy and afraid of the lye involved.
Today, I went to Lush for the first time. I had honestly never paid attention to them before because I thought all they made were bath bombs. I didn't know they had shampoo bars and bar soap and awesomely expensive lotion that I can't afford right now. So, I'm trying two of their products. Or rather, my son is trying a bath bomb and I am trying a shampoo bar that promises to soothe my dry itchy scalp. I also got a sample of their Charity Pot lotion, I put it on my hands at the store and they seem to still be not dry now. Lotion is one of those things that will always need reapplying through out the day, but if I get a concoction that only needs to be done in the morning and at night, then it is a keeper. We'll see how these products go. I can spend ten or more bucks on a bar of organic triple milled soap, and I've wasted a good amount of money on stuff that doesn't work.
Another thing I've actually struggled with is the yarn I purchase. When available, I make an effort to buy organic cotton, but cotton is notoriously difficult to work with. Organic wool is way too expensive, even when we had our cushy two incomes. The problem is I enjoy knitting, but I run out of yarn and instead of ordering a natural product or now, not having enough money, I purchase the cheap acrylic. Yes it's washable, but it's plastic, and I dress my baby in it, and I feel bad, because she's wearing a plastic sweater. This is another area where I need to put my foot down and say, no to synthetics. I have found that an easier and cheaper way to do this is not buy for the sake of the stash. Focus on exactly what project you'd like to make, choose your pattern, calculate your yarn cost, shop around for the best price for the wool, or for you god awful vegan folk, cotton or linen or such, and purchase exactly what you need. I like to think about it this way, I'm putting so much time and effort into hand knitting, so I might as well purchase a quality yarn and hand wash it gently with a good wool wash.
Right now, I wish we could do more. But the little things add up and make a difference in our lives. Hopefully things get better for us, so we can live like we really want to and do things even better for ourselves and the environment.
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